http://forward.com/articles/189713/muslim-couple-preserves-remnants-of-jewish-life-in/ By Alanna E. Cooper, the Jewish Daily Forward As the sun set over Bukhara, Uzbekistan on a recent Friday evening, I joined the local community in welcoming the Sabbath. This was my first time back to the historic spot on the Silk Road since I first visited in the 1990s.…

(Reuters) - Two members of Russian punk protest band Pussy Riot were freed from prison on Monday, deriding President Vladimir Putin's amnesty that led to their early release as a propaganda stunt and promising to fight for human rights. Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 24, shouted "Russia without Putin" following her release from…

The harassment of civil society in Russia will continue unabated despite the release of prisoners of conscience, said Amnesty International today. The organization has long campaigned for the immediate and unconditional release of a number of prisoners of conscience (POCs) freed recently under President Putin’s amnesty. Several others being tried…

by Tanya Cooper, Human Rights Watch In recent days the presidents of Germany, France and the United States announced they wouldn’t attend the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia, in February 2014. None explained why they decided to skip the Games, but one can guess that the appalling human rights situation in…

In early March 2013 the Russian government launched an unprecedented, nationwide campaign of inspections of thousands of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to identify advocacy groups the government deems “foreign agents” and force them to register as such. The list below tracks the legal consequences of the law on dozens of NGOs. Since the beginning of…

(JTA) – Lithuania’s prime minister condemned a lawmaker for suggesting Jews are cheap and “are just looking to take from Lithuania.” “I judge this statement to be very negative and it doesn’t represent the party’s position,” Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius said Dec. 23, according to the news site Delfi.lt. A spokesperson…

After decades of assimilation, young members of Russian city's Jewish community are connecting to their roots through Jewish student clubs, synagogue activities and annual Limmud festival SAINT PETERSBURG – When Tsar Peter the Great founded Saint Petersburg, the northern pearl of the Great Russia, about 310 years ago, he didn't imagine…

http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=10982 The Moscow Patriarchate is hoping that the members of the feminist punk group Pussy Riot who have been released from prison today after being amnestied will improve. "Every person has a right to make public statements, honest debates, and competition of ideas. However, when political manipulations and dangerous provocations happen, it's…

Widespread Demonstrations in Israel Protesting Leningrad Trial and New Trials December 22, 1970 JERUSALEM (Dec. 21) JTA Israel was still seething with protest today over the Leningrad trial and new trials of Jews expected to start soon in the Soviet Union. Demonstrations were held on university campuses in Jerusalem, Tel…

By Jeremy Borovitz KIEV, Ukraine (JTA) — As I stood as one of the few Americans among the masses of protesters at Kiev’s Independence Square, the frigid cold reminded me that this was my fourth year trying to survive a harsh Ukrainian winter. The crowd seemed to be warming up thanks…